By Jose Cielito Reganit | Philippine News Agency
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) found no record of a sale or transfer of lawyer Manases Carpio’s shares in Cale88 Foods Corporation, BIR Office of the Commissioner Chief of Staff Anne Loraine Garcia-Marquez told the Senate impeachment court on Thursday.
Marquez said BIR records also showed no electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR) and no pending application for one.
The prosecution is seeking to prove that Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, continues to own the shares.
Private prosecutor Erwin Matib presented the BIR findings as the court examined Duterte’s business interests under Article II of the Articles of Impeachment.
Garcia-Marquez read a BIR certification submitted to the court on Oct. 7 in response to a subpoena.
It stated that the agency’s database contained “no records arising from or in connection with any transfer, sale, disposition, or other conveyance of shares of stock” in Cale88 owned by Carpio.
“In relation thereto, no documents or records were found evidencing the payment, assessment, or settlement of any applicable taxes, fees, or other charges arising from or in connection with such transfer or disposition,” she read.
Matib then asked Garcia-Marquez to put the finding in simpler terms, “Wala pong na-isyung eCAR or any record ng transfer or sale on any shares,” she answered.
When asked whether an application might still be pending, she said there was none.
An eCAR is a BIR document used in processing the transfer of property after the applicable taxes have been settled.
Marquez told the court that a transfer of shares not traded on a stock exchange requires one. She said the corporation’s secretary must check the tax documents before recording a transfer in the company’s books.
The prosecution believes the absence of BIR records showing Carpio’s sale or transfer of his Cale88 means he remains its owner.
Matib also described the sale as fake, but defense counsel Kristine Ferrer objected, and presiding officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero struck the word “peke.”
Escudero pointed out that the corporate secretary keeps a company’s stock and transfer book and files its General Information Sheet, or GIS, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Citing testimony already heard by the court, he said a transfer appeared to have been reflected in the GIS even though the BIR had found no eCAR.
Marquez said that under the BIR’s rules, taxes must be paid before the transfer is recorded in the company’s books.
The court did not establish through her testimony what the company’s stock and transfer book currently shows.
Escudero then asked whether the absence of an eCAR made a transaction invalid or instead exposed those responsible to a penalty.
Marquez distinguished a possible agreement between the buyer and the seller from its recording in the corporate books.
She said a transfer could be valid between the parties, she said, “but it should not have been recorded in the stock and transfer books.”
That distinction leaves two questions for the court to examine: whether a transfer agreement exists and whether it was properly recorded.
The BIR certification does not, by itself, settle current ownership of the shares.
“As to the validity, Your Honor, I think the law on contracts should be applied,” Marquez said.
